Stronger
by HarrysPott
Summary: Bella is a senior at the University of Maine and decides to head into the city for the weekend with her closest friends. When the worst happens and one of them ends up in the hospital, Bella is forced to face her past.
1. Chapter 1

My head was spinning as I sat in the back of the ambulance, watching the EMTs rush around my best friend of four years. The sight of all the blood on his body would have been enough to make me dizzy in a normal situation, but that on top of the fact that I was piss drunk had me feeling like I was going to throw up, pass out, or both. I tried my best to keep it together by putting my head down between my knees, knowing that any attention I brought to myself would mean taking the help away from Danny.

I let the EMTs and emergency room nurses get Danny out of the ambulance first when we pulled up to the hospital. I needed the time to prepare myself to stand up, anyway. I gripped onto the side of the ambulance as I gently lowered myself down to the pavement. I looked up to see his gurney being quickly wheeled into the automatic doors and I picked up my pace, fully aware that they would need my side of the story since he was unconscious.

"What's his condition?" I heard a smooth, calm voice say. At first, I was annoyed. I knew my brain wasn't processing things as quickly as usual, but it still seemed odd that a person could look at Dan and not panic. Then, I looked for the doctor who was speaking.

Of course it would be Carlisle fucking Cullen. I could feel myself reverting to the mental state in which I believed I was hallucinating all the time, but then I remembered drunk me isn't that creative. This night could not possibly get any worse, and I was _this_ close to purposely knocking myself out. I had zoned out in my mini-panic over seeing Carlisle for the first time in almost six years, and unfortunately didn't listen to the response the EMT gave.

"And his name?" Carlisle was filling out a chart while the ER nurses were working on Danny. I knew I would probably have to respond, which was reaffirmed by the EMT turning around to raise his eyebrows at me.

"Daniel Stevens," I responded with a sigh. I made eye contact with Carlisle and saw his unmasked surprise as he realized who he was looking at. I did my best to give him a polite smile as I walked closer to the pair, but I'm sure I more resembled Jasper when he had to spend any amount of time at Forks High School rather than someone who was happy to see him. "He is twenty-five years old and was very intoxicated when he got into a car accident. The other car hit into the passenger side, where Dan was." I hesitated before giving my last piece of information that I knew would be important for Carlisle to know, but then felt a surge of confidence as I met his gaze and said, "There's cocaine in his system, too. Watch for that."

I watched him attempt to remain neutral as I spoke, but I could tell that his mind was swimming with questions. He nodded slowly and wrote down the information on clipboard in his hand. "Thank you, Bella." Hearing him say my name sent chills through my body as I attempted to keep those memories at bay. "Please let me know if you think of anything else. For now, you can take a seat over here."

Carlisle led me to a room just off of the area we were in. There were two chairs next to Dan's bed. Both were looking quite comfortable in my shocked, exhausted state. I turned to thank him just before I sat, but he wasn't done talking yet. "Bella, he is going to be alright. I normally wouldn't say anything as people would begin to think I could see the future," he chuckled at his own joke, "but I suspect he will be awake and able to function mostly on his own within the week."

The whole situation must have taken more of a toll on me than I'd originally thought because his words caused my eyes to well up and my body to throw itself at him without my permission. Carlisle was ready though, and caught me easily as I cried into his white doctor's coat. After a few minutes of allowing him to rub my back and calm me down, I stepped back to see mascara stains on his otherwise clean uniform.

"Oh shit. I'm so sorry, Carlisle." I winced at my own vulgarity, but relaxed at his light laugh.

"No worries, Bella. Try to get some rest. Do you have a change of clothes?" I looked down at myself and realized that I was still in my sparkly black cocktail dress and silver pumps. I shook my head as I wiped at my eyes.

"No I don't, but I could probably get someone to bring me some in the morning." I started thinking about who I would call, considering all of my friends would be hungover.

"I can do one better, if you'll let me," Carlisle started, "Let me call Esme and have her bring you something. She would love to see you."

I thought about it for a moment before nodding and thanking him. I would like to see her too and getting out of this outfit sounded heavenly. He left the room, promising to let me know as soon as she arrived. It didn't take me long after that to fall asleep, head resting back against the wall. I was still drunk and probably needed some water and something for my developing headache, but I couldn't be bothered with that at the moment.

Time must have passed quicker than I realized because the next time I opened my eyes I was greeted with god awful light streaming through the blinds of the hospital room. I winced as I got up to twist them closed. I began to rub my temples, wondering what time it was when I heard someone clear their throat at the door of the room.

I spun around, way too quickly for my current state, and came face to face with the worst thing that had ever happened to me. His face was still ridiculously beautiful, much to my annoyance, and I was in no way prepared for this moment. I felt my heart rate increase and knew he could too, making me even more distressed.

"Edward," I knew I sounded pathetic, but I could hardly make any sound at all, causing me to sound breathy.

"Hello," he flashed a smile at me. "I didn't mean to startle you, but I wanted to give you an update on Daniel and see how you were doing." It seemed like he wanted to say something else, but he stayed quiet.

"Thank you," I wrapped my arms around my body, remembering what I was wearing. "I'm alright. You said you had an update?" This interaction was painfully awkward and I wanted to be done with it as soon as possible.

"Right. Daniel's vitals are good and it seems as though he will recover fully. Of course we can't know for sure until he wakes up, but..." he trailed off, silently adding that he had an advantage over your average doctor.

"That's um... good. That's good." I wanted to slap myself silly. It had been over four years since I had seen him and the effect he had on me was still very strong. I knew it was probably just my brain's reaction to never having closure, so I pushed the nerves aside.

"Also, Esme is here. We didn't want to wake you up, but I can send her in." I felt a wave of relief. I was beginning to feel suffocated in this outfit, even though the skirt was a good six inches above my knees.

"Oh thank god," I ran my hand through my hair and threw it up in a ponytail. It had grown all the way down to my waist and I knew it would be easier to change if it was out of the way. As I finished tightening my hair tie I caught a glimpse of Edward's eyes trailing down my body before he quickly looked away and tugged on his own hair. I smirked, happy to know that four years of maturity and a sparkly dress gave me an edge when it came to dealing with my ex boyfriend that nearly ruined me.

"I'll uh...send her in." He turned to walk out of the hospital room door.

"No that's alright, I'll go to her. I've been in this room for too long and I could use a walk." I shot him a smile, feeling my confidence rise as I brushed by him and through the door. As soon as I entered the hallway I saw Carlisle and Esme speaking quietly to each other near the reception desk. I could almost feel my heart swell as she turned and looked at me. One of the hardest things about Edward leaving was that I never had the chance to say goodbye to the people I considered family. I felt a grin split my face as I walked quickly in her direction.

"Bella!" Esme pulled me into a hug as soon as she could with other humans in the vicinity. I wrapped my arms around her and rested my head on her shoulder. I momentarily forgot about my hangover and pulled away smiling.

"Hi, Esme." She still had a hold of my hands as she looked me over.

"You look beautiful sweetheart, even after going through what happened last night." she gave my hands a squeeze and then let them drop.

"Well thanks," I laughed, knowing she was being polite. "Thank you so much for bringing me some clothes, my feet are killing me."

"It's my pleasure," she said, handing me a small backpack. "Alice picked it out, so I'm sure it'll look lovely." I looked up in surprise.

"Alice?" I didn't know what else to say. I had missed her like crazy the first year, but then I went back and forth between hurt and sadness. She had a role as my best friend too, not just my boyfriends sister, yet she never contacted me once after they left.

"Yes," Esme looked over my shoulder, at Edward I presumed, an unsure expression on her face. "She didn't want to overwhelm you, but she would love to see you if you're up for it." I nodded.

"She always did know what was best." I decided to leave it at that, knowing that they would understand my meaning. I looked around me for a bathroom, suddenly feeling like I needed to be alone.

"There's a bathroom just down there, Bella." Carlisle gestured down the hall.

"Thank you, I'll be back in a few minutes." I swung the backpack over my shoulder and began to walk down the hall when I saw four familiar faces. My friends walked through the sliding doors into the hospital, looking around frantically like Dan was just going to be sitting in the waiting room. Well, they had a rude awakening coming, and I was ready to dish it out.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! They are much appreciated. I noticed that there was confusion about why Bella was so hurt by Edward. Just to clear things up, she was referring to when he left her in New Moon. Hope that helps!

* * *

"Nice of you to show your faces here now that you've had your beauty sleep." I could feel the fire in my eyes as I approached my friends. I loved them all dearly, and they had become my family over the past four years, but at that moment I was pissed. All four of them, Sarah, Dillon, Brent, and Luna, looked properly scolded as I stood in front of them.

"I'm sorry you've been here alone, Bella," Sarah started, "we didn't even know exactly what had happened until Dan's brother sent us that text this morning." The others nodded their heads in agreement.

"That's not even what I'm upset about!" I took a deep breath, reminding myself to keep my voice down. "I cannot believe that in the five minutes I was gone to use the bathroom you guys couldn't keep an eye on each other. You shouldn't have been drunk enough that letting Dan get in the car with his drunk ex-boyfriend sounded like an okay idea." I shook my head at their shocked expressions. I could tell Brent wanted to argue, but Dillon spoke up before he could.

"You're right, B." He stepped forward to give me a hug. I was hesitant, but let him put his arms around me. "We should be looking out for each other and we didn't do that last night."

I buried my head in his shoulder, feeling the first real comfort since the whole ordeal started. I knew if I looked up from Dillon's hug that I would see Brent rolling his eyes and acting defensive, Luna crying, and Sarah comforting her, but I decided to stay right where I was as long as Dillon would let me.

Dillon had been my rock since I left Forks, and Jake, to go to college. Jake imprinted just a year after I moved to Maine. I was ridiculously happy for him, but that meant that our phone calls were few and far between. Danny was my best friend, but serious talks were not in our normal activity regimine. Obviously I couldn't tell him everything about my past, but he did know about my first love that left me out of the blue and turned me into a zombie for over a year. I wished desperately that I could pull him aside and tell him that I had run into him and his family at this hospital, of all places, in fucking Augusta, Maine.

"Alright," I stepped back and shifted the backpack further up on my shoulder. "I'm going to go change and get cleaned up. Dan's in room 137." I kept my eyes down and hurried to the bathroom, not ready to see the look on my friends' faces after chewing them out.

I unzipped the backpack to find a pair of black leggings and a gray sweatshirt, underwear, white converse, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a hair brush, and deodorant. I could have kissed Alice right then regardless of how upset with her I was. I took my time brushing out my long hair and freshening up, knowing that it might be the closest thing to a shower I was going to get for a few days. We had rented a hotel room for the night in town instead of worrying about riding for hours in the car back to our college town, and I wasn't about to leave Danny in the hospital by himself.

I walked out of the bathroom with my old clothes in the backpack and began the walk back to Dan's room. I was trying to decide how angry I was with my friends when I saw my boyfriend at the check-in desk. If seeing him here wasn't surprising enough, my mouth nearly dropped open when I noticed that he was speaking to Edward.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked as soon as I was a few feet away from the pair. I was slightly out of breath since I rushed to interrupt their conversation.

"Hey, there she is!" Ryan smiled at me and leaned in to drop a kiss on my lips. I was fighting the urge to look at Edward's face, but it was clearly ridiculous to think that he would show any emotion about it, so I resisted.

"What are you doing here? I thought you worked all weekend." I wrapped my arm around his waist in greeting. He was carrying two coffee cups in his hands, and giving him a real hug would more than likely cause me to spill at least one of them.

"I was supposed to, but I got today covered. I heard what happened and thought you could probably use this." He handed me one of the drinks. I brought it to my nose and smelled the familiar spice of a chai latte.

"You're the best, this is exactly what I needed!" I gave him a quick kiss and turned toward Daniel's room. Edward was nowhere to be seen, and joining the rest of our group would only cause an overly crowded space. "Come on let's take a walk."

We walked outside the automatic doors hand-in-hand. The silence was comfortable and welcomed as I sipped my drink. I always appreciated Ryan for the fact that we didn't have to talk all the time. I met him two years ago and we started dating pretty soon after. At first, I was just proving to myself that I could do it. Date someone, I mean. I hadn't even given anyone a second thought since Edward and I needed to know if I could make it work. We had been together ever since, though, and I loved him. I was more independent and guarded than I ever was before, but Ryan took it in stride and our relationship was better for it.

"How is Dan doing?" Ryan asked after a few minutes. He squeezed my hand in support as I told him the recent updates.

"He's not awake yet, but the doctors suspect he will be okay. We just need to wait for him to be conscious to be completely sure." We were coming back around to the front doors after our lap around the building.

"That's good. I'm sure everything will be fine, this hospital is supposed to have a great staff." I smiled a bit, thinking that if he only knew how knowledgeable the staff was he probably wouldn't have even asked. "I should probably head back to Orono. I have work tonight and the drive is a few hours long."

"Good idea. I wish you could stay though." This was true. Even though it was uncomfortable, I liked the idea of Edward seeing me living my life with my boyfriend. I deserved the chance to show him that I was happy without him.

"Me too, babe." Ryan threw his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer for a hug. I walked him to his car before heading back in to spend some more time in Dan's room. I needed to text his mom to give her an update anyway. His parents were on a humanitarian trip and were unable to fly home, so it was my job to give them every piece of information on their son possible.

I had just hit send from the chair next to Danny's bed when I heard the door open. It was Edward, of course, being that it was his shift and not Carlisle's. He nodded his head at me as I tucked my cellphone back into my sweatshirt pocket. I casually watched him as he filled out more of my best friend's medical charts and checked his medication levels. I noticed the red tint to his perpetually messy hair and how his graceful body moved throughout the room. I knew that it was wrong, but I couldn't make myself look away as he continued fulfilling his duties.

I quickly averted my eyes as he turned to make eye contact with me. Once again, it was painfully obvious that I had been staring at him, but it made me feel better to pretend that he didn't notice.

"So... you're in school?" He had folded his hands over the clipboard and leaned against the wall.

"Yeah," I felt my lips turn up into a small smile, "I am just finishing out my senior year. University of Maine." Upon hearing this his face broke into a gorgeous smile that made me want to throw myself out of the window. I shook my head a little, trying to clear my thoughts.

"That's wonderful, Bella. What are you studying?" His eyes were light and I wondered if he had hunted recently. I assumed he would have to often, working in a hospital and all.

"Public health, with a minor in education." I laughed humorlessly to myself as I thought about the reason. "I want to work with... struggling youth." I had become one of these students myself during my last year at Forks High School. I was failing every class and had dropped twenty pounds before Charlie had put his foot down and forced me to go to therapy, though. It didn't work as well as it should have seeing as I couldn't quite give all of the details without betraying the Cullens and ending up in a mental institution.

"You would be wonderful in that field." I wanted to be imagining the prideful look on his face, but I knew that I wasn't. I was, however, confused. Where was this interest in my life coming from? If he wanted to be proud of what I was doing with my life he should have stayed in it.

He had hit a nerve, with that look on his face, and I was about to let him have it when I heard one of the most incredible sounds in the world.

"Bells?" Dan croaked as Edward spun to look at him and I leapt from my chair.

"Danny!" Tears fell down my face instantly as I gripped the sheets, reminding myself that he was in a car accident yesterday, and that he probably felt like shit. I placed my hand on his cheek as he blinked his eyes a few times.

"Oh, fuck." I chuckled, loving how crass he managed to be at all times. He groaned and his eyes shifted to look at me, seeing as his body was pretty much stuck still from all of his casts.

"This is what your dumbass gets for getting into the car with Harvey." I would have hit him, any other day.

He winced as though I had hit him. "What's the damage?" He looked behind me.

Edward spoke up for the first time, reminding me that he was still in the room. I quickly wiped my cheeks and stepped back, allowing him to get closer as he filled Daniel in. "I'm Dr. Cullen, and I am over your case. You were in a car accident that resulted in three broken ribs, a fractured femur, a broken collar bone, and a serious concussion." He gestured to me, "Bella will have to fill you in on the non-medical information."

I raised my eyebrow, daring Dan to ask me anything about his ex boyfriend.

"Let me know if you need anything, otherwise I'll be back in a few hours." He looked at me questioningly, "Bella, would you like me to mention to your friends in the waiting room that Daniel is awake?"

"Yes, please." I moved forward to hold Dan's hand, but not before Edward lightly brushed his fingers over my shoulder in what seemed to be comfort. I did my best to recover as my best friend returned the eyebrow raise, full force. "I'd be so pissed at you if you weren't in a hospital bed right now." I hoped to high heaven that my distraction tactic would work.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been a week since Dan was released from the hospital. We made the two-hour drive back to Orono and I basically forced him to move in with Sarah, Luna, and I. One of us was almost always home, meaning that we could take care of him until he was able to function on his own again. I remembered the interrogation I received during the car ride and rolled my eyes. He wouldn't admit to it, but he was just as protective over me as I was him.

" _Okay, Bella," I smirked, knowing that he would have turned to face me had he not been in a neckbrace. "Spill. That doctor was too comfy with you during the last two days for something not to have happened. Did you make out with him in a closet?"_

 _I nearly spit out my coffee that we had stopped to get at the beginning of the drive, "No!" I resisted the urge to hit him, again. "I didn't kiss him in a fucking closet."_

 _Dan's shit eating grin told me that he didn't believe me one bit. "I kissed him in my bedroom." I laughed as Dan sputtered, and hoped I wasn't going to give him a heart attack after everything else._

" _Spill, bitch!" I was, surprisingly, enjoying this._

" _Do you remember my ex from Forks?" I started. "The one that -"_

" _Almost ruined your life completely?" He interrupted me. Right. Not protective in the slightest._

" _Yeah, that one." I sighed, "Well he's now a doctor. In Maine."_

That brought on a conversation that lasted nearly the entire trip home. I told him about Ryan's visit and how I was glad that Edward saw us together. What I hadn't shared with him, though, was the feelings I had been having since we left the hospital.

I was angry, mostly, that after four years of teaching myself to not think about Edward and his family every moment of the day, I was right back at it. I was angry that I denied myself the opportunity to see Alice and Emmett. And more than anything, I was angry that I could feel my stomach preparing to accommodate the aching hole that accompanied the grief of not having contact with Edward Cullen's stupid ass.

I was alternating between hovering over the hospital's phone number and my therapist's when my phone began to ring. It was an unknown number, but somehow I knew who it was before I swiped to answer the call.

"Hello?" I said, tentatively.

" _Bella_ ," I heard the relief in her voice as I picked up her call.

"Alice." I was at a loss for words. More than anything I felt like crying, but that would seem weak. I was not weak Bella Swan anymore. I was a college educated, badass, twenty-two year-old Bella Swan. I chanted this to myself as I waited for her delayed response.

" _Bella..."_ I took in a shaky breath, " _I know this is out of the blue, but I just felt like I needed to call and talk to you, I'm sorry if you didn't want this."_ I shut my eyes tight as I listened to her bell-like voice.

"No, Alice, it's okay," of course she called, why wouldn't I have expected that with all of my emotions about them lately?

" _I just wanted to say that I miss you and I'm sorry that I didn't get to see you while you were in town."_ I knew she wanted to say much more than that.

"I'm sorry, too." I ran a hand through my hair, "I wish I would have seen you as well, but..." I trailed off.

" _No, I get it, you don't have to explain."_ Hearing her speak had a similar effect on me as the calming tea I had become accustomed to drinking at night. Even though I was immensely stressed out by this phone call, I couldn't help but feel myself relax as she talked. " _We hurt you. I hurt you. And I'm sorry."_

She took my silence as a cue and continued her speech, " _I was hoping, though, that you'd be willing to see me someday._ "

I let out a surprised laugh and rubbed my temple with the hand not attached to my phone, "Alice of course I would want to see you. I was hurt... _am_ hurt." I corrected myself. "But that doesn't mean that I never want to see you again. I never wanted that."

" _Oh thank god,"_ she said, releasing a small, joyful giggle.

Her words had me breaking into a smile as well. Alice wasn't my best friend for very long, but she's the only friend in the world that I could tell absolutely everything to, since it was her family's secret. Jake knew nearly everything, but I couldn't bring it up without him calling the Cullens 'leeches' and storming out of the room at some point. I wanted to see her, and soon.

" _Forgive me if this is presumptuous, Bella,"_ I was suddenly nervous again. " _Ever since we left Forks my family hasn't been the same. In a last ditch effort to keep us close Esme has enforced a 'family night' once a week. I have received permission to invite you. Would you come this week?"_

I was shocked to say the least. I didn't know if I would be able to handle something like that. Edward, Alice, and all of the rest of their family in one room? For a whole night? I hadn't had to think about who could hear me pee and smell my breath from across the room since junior year of high school. Did I want to put myself in that position again?

"Alice I couldn't impose." Is what came out of my mouth in sheer panic.

" _Bella,"_ I could hear how ridiculous she thought I was. " _It wasn't just permission. Everyone was begging me to get you to come. We all miss you."_ She finished.

They _all_ missed me? I had seen the way Edward looked at me at the hospital, but being attracted to me didn't mean that he wanted me in his life again. He left me for a reason.

I shook my head at myself, already fully aware that I was going to accept. "Okay, if you say so. I'll come." I heard the subsequent squeal come from the other end of the line in a very Alice-like fashion.

We finished the conversation after briefly discussing the details. I was conflicted. I wanted to pretend like the butterflies in my stomach were responding to the idea of seeing Alice and the other members of the Cullen family for the first time in years, but I couldn't deny that a large part of it was seeing Edward again. Normally, I'd like to think that I would have cancelled being that I have a boyfriend. The problem was that I didn't know if these feelings were just unresolved from my eighteen year-old self or if they were legitimate. The only way, it seemed, was to test the theory by putting myself in the exact situation I was afraid of.


	4. Chapter 4

According to my phone's navigation, I was approximately fifteen minutes away from the Cullen residence. To say that I was a nervous wreck was nearly an understatement. My hands were sweaty, I could feel my pulse racing, and deep breaths were doing very little to help. I was imagining the situation I was about to put myself in and I suddenly felt eighteen again. I could see Rosalie's sneer and feel Edward's cold hands on my waist as we discussed our plan of action to thwart James and Victoria. I could hear Emmet's booming laugh that came out every time I stumbled or dropped something unexpectedly and see the blank look that glazed over Alice's face as she slipped into a vision-induced mini coma.

By the time I pulled myself out of my memories I was approaching a driveway, much like the one in Forks, leading up to a beautiful house that I'm sure Esme had a field day decorating. There was soft white light coming from the windows and the flower beds along the front of the house were impeccable. I was right on time, and wishing that I had had the foresight to be late so that I could postpone the feelings cascading over me for just a few more minutes. Maybe then I would have been ready. Yeah, right.

I stepped out of my car and pulled my purse close just to have something to do with my hands. I made my way toward the front door and by the time I hit the third stair the door was swung open, revealing a very, very, excited Alice Cullen.

" _Bella_!" she squeaked out, pulling me into a hug and then immediately letting go as if touching me had burned her. "Oops, sorry."

I shook my head and laughed breathily as she looked down at her feet. "Alice, it's okay. Get back over here." I felt her arms around me again before I could even finish the sentence.

Alice stepped out of the hug only to grab my hand and drag me inside the house behind her. As I looked around I noticed that the decor was similar to the Cullen house in Forks, which was unsurprising considering Esme and Alice probably did all of the styling for both. My eyes wandered to the living area and took in the greeting committee waiting for me there. Carlisle, Esme, and Edward were standing behind the other family members. I assumed that since they had already had their chance to greet me at the hospital, they were letting the others have a turn first. I was shocked, to say the least, though, that joining Emmett in the front of the crowd were Rosalie and Jasper. Rosalie, for obvious reasons, was not on my list of people I wanted to give a big warm hug to, but I was never close to Jasper either. Nonetheless, I smiled gently and took a step in their direction.

That step was all it took for Emmett to take two large strides and pick me up, giving me a spin and setting me back down all in the matter of about five seconds. When I had the courage to open my eyes, sure that I wasn't going to fall over, I was met with a grinning Emmett.

"Hey, Bells." I raised my hand to give him a little wave as I laughed. "It's good to have you here."

I nodded, feeling my cheeks warm as I twisted my hands together, "It's good to be here." I looked to Jasper and Rosalie, shooting a tentative smile in their direction.

"Hi, Bella." Jasper's deep, southern voice responded. Rosalie was smiling softly, acknowledging me with a dip of her head. It was much more than I was expecting, honestly, and I was thankful that I wasn't going to be put on the spot to defend myself right off the bat.

"So, tonight is movie night and it's the ladies' turn to pick," Alice had a mischievous look in her eye as she spoke. "Generally, Rose, Esme, and I like to pick an 80's rom-com. What do you say?"

Emmett produced a loud groan as he flopped down on the couch. Rosalie rolled her eyes at her husband and returned her attention to Alice and I, throwing a smirk at us as she made her way to where we were still standing near the front door.

I thought about it for a moment. This was a favorite genre of mine since I began college and had to put up with Luna and Sarah watching one every weekend. "How about... _16 Candles?_ "

"Yes!" Alice tugged on my hand again as Esme laughed and pulled the movie out from a cabinet under the T.V.. I joined Alice on a larger couch in the middle of the living room, Jasper on her other side. I was telling myself over and over again not to look for Edward, but that lasted a solid two minutes before I let my eyes wander around the room. Rosalie was sitting in a large, comfortable looking chair with Emmett in front of her leaning against her legs. Carlisle and Esme were sitting on a loveseat on the opposite side of the room, and Edward was nowhere to be seen. It was apparent that my disappointment was overwhelming when Jasper leaned forward a fraction to look at me, a questioning expression on his face. I averted my eyes as fast as I could and was met with the sight of Edward walking through the door, carrying a bowl of popcorn.

A small smile appeared on his face as he approached me, "I thought you might want a snack for the movie."

The gesture was so sweet that I could feel my throat closing up with emotion. Edward was such a genuinely kind person, and I was full of regret and sadness for our relationship that ended years ago for a fraction of time before I reached out to take the bowl from his hands. I cleared my throat, "Thank you, I love popcorn." A fact he knew, I was sure.

Edward sat in the last open chair as the movie started, and I wished that he was a little closer to the screen so that I could sneak glances at him without getting caught. I was clearly not over him like I thought I was. This was going to be a problem if I wanted to be close to Alice again. How could I realistically be okay with myself as a person if I was putting myself in situations where I'd be around Edward when I was committed to Ryan? It was something I knew I'd be contemplating for a while. It's not like it was going to be a real issue, as my feelings weren't reciprocated, but it didn't feel right nonetheless.

I let myself get distracted by one of my favorite movies. It felt good to be laughing with the Cullens and sitting close to Alice, occasionally feeling her touch my arm during a part that she particularly liked. As the credits began to roll Carlisle stood up and turned on the lights. I squinted, causing a wave of quiet laughter to spread through the group. I smiled and glanced at the clock, seeing that it was just after 10:00 p.m..

"Oh man, I better get going. It's about an hour drive and I have work in the morning." I stood up from the couch, followed by Alice and Jasper.

"It would probably be a good idea for you to get going before the storm gets worse, too." Alice said, peeking outside. "I don't see any problems, but just in case."

I followed her lead and looked out the front window of the Cullen home. It seemed to have snowed about four inches during the movie.

"Oh, no!" I whined, forgetting about everything else momentarily. "I was going to get new tires this weekend before the snowstorm hit, but it came early." I bit my lip, worrying about my inability to do anything gracefully, and, therefore, safely.

"Bella, if you're nervous about it I don't mind driving you." Edward spoke up, standing from his chair. "We could just bring your car to campus tomorrow."

His kindness was ever present. "I couldn't ask you to do that." I shook my head, looking out at the falling snow.

I heard Emmett chuckle. "What better do we have to do, Bells? Sleep?" Everyone smiled at his comment, including me.

Edward's smirk at his brother's humor stayed in place, "Really, Bella. We would all feel much better knowing you had a safe trip home."

I closed my eyes in defeat, immediately feeling my anxiety melt away. Whether it was knowing I wouldn't have to drive or Jasper using his power, I wasn't sure. "That would be great. Thank you, Edward."

I said my goodbyes to the rest of his family, hugging Esme and Alice on my way out. I was lead to a new, charcoal-colored Volvo. Edward walked around to the passenger side, opening the door for me. He backed out of the garage, driving past my snow-covered car.

"So, um, if you don't mind my asking," Edward started, "where do you work?" He glanced over at me before returning his eyes to the road.

"I work at the U of M campus library. I mostly put books away, but I occasionally get to fix ones that are damaged, too." I loved my job. It made it easy to get access to the books I needed for class.

"That sounds like something you would enjoy." He smiled.

"Yeah," I smiled back, "I do. What about you? Did you go back to medical school?" I was happy to be having casual conversation like this with Edward. It helped me not focus on his smell or the sound of his voice when I had to focus on responding.

"I went for a year, and forged some transfer credits." I watched the way his hands moved along the steering wheel as he drove, "I just needed to refresh my knowledge a bit." He let out a light chuckle.

We spent the rest of the hour talking about the last few years, carefully avoiding the topic of our break up. I learned about where the Cullens had moved to right after Forks, and was surprised to know that they were less than a day's drive away from me in Northern California. Edward asked about my college experience and I told him about my friends. Ryan didn't come up in conversation, and I had a suspicion that was on purpose.

Eventually, we pulled up to my apartment building. It was a short walk from the parking lot to my door, but the warmth of Edward's car made me want to stay there all night instead of stepping out into the snow.

"Thanks again, Edward. I don't know if my car would have made it through the snow." I turned toward him, a small smile on my lips.

"Of course, Bella. I'll always be here if you need anything. I hope you know that." I could see the honesty in his amber-colored eyes. We both stayed there for a minute before I shook myself out of the trance I seemed to have fallen in.

"I do now." I looked down at my hands. "I have a break during classes tomorrow from one to two, if it's easier to bring my car to campus. Otherwise I'll be home after five." I looked up through my eyelashes then.

He was looking at me with an intensity I hadn't seen in a very, very long time, "Sounds great. I'll see you tomorrow, Bella."

I got out of his car and forced myself not to look back.


	5. Chapter 5

I woke up the next morning with a familiar feeling in my stomach. I could hear my roommates laughing about something in the kitchen, but in my gut I knew that their happiness had nothing on mine. I had dreamed about a reunion with the Cullens for years, never actually considering that it might become a reality. Last night met my expectations. Exceeded them, even. The only difference was that Edward and I were merely friends.

That's what we were supposed to be, right? I was happy with Ryan and Edward didn't need to be worrying about a human girlfriend all the time. I mean, he ended things for a reason. I suspected that it was just residual feelings left over from being together, but I would take dealing with that over not seeing the Cullen family any day.

I stretched and jumped out of bed before I could think about how cold it was going to be. As I threw on a University of Maine sweatshirt and blue jeans, I walked over to the window to check out the snow. There was a white blanket covering the grass and sidewalks outside. For a moment, it was beautiful. Then, it occured to me that I was going to have to walk to school in it.

"Fuck," I groaned, throwing on my boots and coat before walking toward the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and hair, putting some light mascara on to hide the fact that I was up late the night before. I briefly wondered which vampire would be bringing my car to me today before shaking off the thought, realizing that I shouldn't care about my appearance no matter who it was going to be. I said a quick hello to Sarah and Luna as I grabbed an orange and walked out the front door with my backpack slung across my back, grudgingly heading toward the walkway in front of my apartments.

"Bella-" I let out a shriek, dropping my orange and gripping the front of my sweatshirt near to where my heart was trying to fly out of my chest. I looked up to see Edward, eyebrows raised in what seemed to be half concern and half amusement, leaning against my car. He looked like he wanted to help, but his hands were occupied. One by my keys, and the other by a coffee that was clearly not for him. I forced myself to smile, still breathing hard, as I bent to pick up my dropped breakfast.

"I guess I was in my own little world. Sorry about that," I walked toward him. "What are you doing here?" I was definitely not prepared to see him so quickly after the movie and car ride last night.

"It occurred to me last night that you may have to walk to class without having your car this morning, so I decided to bring it early. And a coffee." He looked a little hesitant at the last part. I wasn't sure if it was because he didn't know if I would like what he got me or if he didn't know if I'd accept it in the first place.

I smiled again, more genuine this time, and took the coffee carefully from his hands. I was glad I was wearing gloves, seeing as I didn't need to know what it would feel like to have Edward's hand against mine.

"The roads are still kind of snowy and I was planning on meeting Alice and Jasper on campus later," he started. "Would you mind if I drove you to class?" He put on a dazzling smile and it was obvious he did it on purpose.

"Sure, that would be nice." I said, moving to pull on the handle of the passenger side. It seemed as though he thought I would be more stubborn as it took him a moment to move toward the drivers side of the car.

We drove in comfortable silence for a few minutes as I sipped on my coffee and ate my orange. He had soft music playing from the radio, which I had noticed was connected to his phone through my aux cord. I was enjoying the drive, and I began to observe his expression as he drove.

Edward seemed content, a light happiness in his eyes as he navigated toward the university. He seemed to fit right in with a young man just out of college, just like he had fit right in as a junior in high school. If I focused hard enough, I could almost imagine what he would look like with slight stubble growing across his chin and cheeks. A smile crept onto his lips. I was almost studying too closely to notice, but he turned his head to make eye contact with me briefly.

"What?" He flashed one of his famous crooked smiles.

"Nothing, you just looked happy." I didn't think about how weird that might sound until it was too late. That smile did not make it easy to speak coherently.

"I am." Edward kept his eyes on the road this time, even though he probably didn't need to.

I bit my lip to keep myself from grinning. I looked out the window for the rest of the drive, but there was a feeling of giddiness in the air.

I spent the rest of the day trying to figure out why I didn't want to see Ryan after classes like I usually did. Our class schedules happened to match up a few days a week, which made it easy to keep up with our quality time. Normally, I would head to his apartment after school. I told myself that it was important for me to see him. My unrequited feelings for Edward should not have an effect on the last two perfect years with Ryan.

I sent a text to my boyfriend, letting him know I would be over shortly and began walking toward my car. I set my backpack in the passenger seat and put the key in the ignition. I took a deep breath and immediately regretted it as I realized everything still smelled like _him_. I tipped my head back against the headrest and slid a hand down my face, willing myself to snap out of it. I threw the car into reverse and turned on the radio, drowning out my thoughts with a very loud 15 minutes of _the greatest hits._

By the time I'd made it to Ryan's I was feeling much better about my current situation. I took the steps two at a time, half excited to see him and the other half avoiding the icier areas of my path. I knocked twice on his door before letting myself in. He never kept his door locked, which I nagged him about almost every day.

"I'm here!" I called, dropping my backpack next to the door and heading to his room. The benefit of Ryan not having any roommates was being able to walk into his house unannounced without worrying about seeing a naked man that's _not_ my boyfriend.

Ryan stood up from his bed as I walked in, smiling as he pulled me into a hug. "Hey, babe." I felt him kiss my forehead as he walked us backwards, falling onto his mattress when his knees hit the edge. I giggled and adjusted my body, settling into a more comfortable position, leaning down to kiss him lightly as I ran a hand through is hair. He pulled me closer and held me tight as he flipped us over, hovering over me with a sensual smirk. I squeaked in surprise and reached up to cup his face with both hands, pulling him down to link our lips together, more urgent than before. He alternated between teasing my mouth and running his lips down my neck, stopping where he knew I was particularly sensitive to give some extra attention.

We continued on this way for what could have been hours. I was reminded of how much I loved Ryan as he whispered sweet things and touched me in the way only he knew how. Eventually, we laid quietly together with his arm thrown across my stomach.

"I have to go to work, Bells." He kissed the spot behind my ear.

I turned my head to look at him, "On a Monday? I thought you only worked Wednesday through Saturday." Ryan worked at a local bar and didn't find the early days of the week worth the lack of customers.

He scratched the back of his head and began to sit up, "Yeah, I...uh, picked up some extra shifts."

"Are you having money issues?" I was concerned. He seemed uncomfortable talking about it, but I wanted him to know I was there for him.

"No!" He got out of bed and picked a shirt from the floor, putting it on. "Just drop it, Bella."

I felt my eyebrows draw together at his harsh tone. "Fine."

Just then my phone began to ring, saving me from any more of this conversation. I rolled out of bed and walked toward my backpack in the other room, pulling my phone out of the side pocket. I smiled at the contact on my screen and swiped to answer the call.

"Hey, Alice." I put the phone up to my ear.

" _Hey!_ " She started, " _Some of us were down at the university looking into signing up for some classes, and we wanted to invite you to catch a movie with us before we head back to Augusta tonight. Are you in?_ "

I was glad for the invitation, knowing I wouldn't want to spend the night wallowing over Ryan's bad attitude after our wonderful afternoon. "Yeah, I would love to."

" _Great! Meet us in an hour at the theater on 7th._ " I knew where that was, it was the place Ryan and I went on our first date. I rolled my eyes at the irony.

"Sounds good, Alice. Thanks!" We hung up after exchanging goodbyes and I slowly walked back to my boyfriend's room to get ready.

When I walked in he was sitting on the edge of his bed, having put on dark wash jeans and a jacket. He looked good, as always. His phone was in his hand and his expression seemed less irritated than before. Just in case, though, I was silent as I opened the drawer that held the items of clothes I'd left there over the last two years.

"Who was that?" Ryan asked, seemingly absent minded as he continued to type on his phone.

"My friend, Alice." I pulled on a pair of black jeans as I spoke, "I went to highschool with her and her siblings."

"Hm," was his only response.

I finished getting ready, running my fingers through my hair and throwing my semi-tangled hair up in a ponytail. We both gathered our things and walked out the door together. He began to walk down the stairs when he turned, noticing my position in front of his door, arms crossed over my chest. He rolled his eyes and pulled out his keys, coming back to lock the door.

We said a brief goodbye, both of us clearly aware of the awkwardness that lingered after our small disagreement.

By the time I pulled into the movie theater parking lot I was significantly less annoyed. I grabbed my wallet from my backpack and walked inside, noticing the empty Volvo and Mercedes a few spots down from mine.

As soon as I opened the door I saw the five Cullen siblings waiting near the ticket counter. I smiled at them as I made my way over, only faltering when Emmett's booming laugh erupted, causing the nearby groups of people to turn and stare.

Confused, I looked at the other Cullens for some sort of clarity. I hadn't tripped, and I didn't think there was any stains on my clothes, but I wrapped my arms around my middle just in case. Alice and Rosalie had a look of prideful shock on their face, Jasper was smirking slightly, and Edward was looking at the ground. Emmett was still laughing, hitting Jasper's arm as I finished my approach.

" _What_?" I hissed, looking at Alice in panic.

"Um, Bella, you've got a hickey. Right here." She motioned to her own neck, near her left collarbone.

My hand flew up to cover the spot, and I felt my cheeks burn as my eyes widened. It had been a while since I had felt this embarrassed. I knew it was a normal thing, but having the Cullens see it so blatantly was a different story. Especially with my recent dilemmas.

"Oh my god." I looked at the ceiling, trying desperately to find a reason to not make eye contact with a single one of them.

"Don't worry Bella, I saw that you might need some concealer, so I bought some. Follow me." Alice turned toward the bathrooms and I quickly followed her, keeping my hand in place. I heard footsteps behind me and turned to see Rosalie walking with us. I was surprised, but not bothered.

We entered the bathroom and I immediately approached the mirror. I groaned as I observed the purple bruise just where Alice had indicated. It was so obvious, I couldn't believe Ryan hadn't said anything.

"Here Bella, sit up on the counter." I turned to face Alice and used my arms to boost myself up. Because of her height, she was exactly where she needed to be to start covering up my blemish.

Rosalie stood next to me and laid her hand on my forearm. I looked at her in surprise, noticing a small smile on her face. "Bella, you're allowed to have a hickey, you know."

I looked down, shaking my head. "I know, but it doesn't mean I'm any less embarrassed. It's really not like me."

She smirked, "That's a shame. I was starting to think you were a bit of a badass."

I rolled my eyes and let out a small laugh. "Badass and Bella really shouldn't be put in the same category."

"I beg to differ. You're probably the only person to be bitten by a vampire and live." Alice said, putting away her compact as she finished working on my neck.

I barked out a shocked laugh, "Alice!" All three of us took a second to compose ourselves, smiling at each other as we reigned in our giggles.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it." I looked at both of them, feeling a sudden wave of gratitude to have them in my life again.

Rosalie pulled lightly on the end of my ponytail, "It's the least we could do."


	6. Chapter 6

This has been the longest week of my life. I tried to keep myself busy with work, classes, reading assignments, Ryan, literally anything to distract me from thinking about the Cullens. During the movie, I ended up sitting between Alice and Edward. I didn't have it in me to make a big deal out of trying to avoid him, both because I didn't want to hurt his feelings and because deep down, I wanted to sit next to him, too.

In any case, the electricity I felt during the two hours I had to sit next to him in the dark was enough to scare me into making the decision to not communicate with any of them this week. I missed them like crazy and I was quickly giving up, but after ignoring a few phone calls from Alice and a teasing text from Emmett, I wasn't sure how to reach out.

I would call Alice tomorrow, I decided. I could use the good ol' "I was drowning in homework" excuse and ask if she wanted to do something. Tonight, however, I was going to spend more time with Ryan.

We had gone to dinner twice this week, and neither of those times ended in an argument like it did last time. He had been acting strange, and I had was worried that he could somehow feel that my emotions were wavering, but we had been spending plenty of time together nonetheless.

All of these thoughts were running through my head as I made my way to his apartment door. I knocked once, and then turned the handle to walk inside. Once again, unlocked. I was just about to call his name when I heard faint noises coming from his bedroom. I dropped my bag by the door and started down the hall. It wasn't unusual for me to show up while he was playing video games or binging a tv show.

My hand stopped to hover over the doorknob when I heard a distinct female-sounding voice come from inside the room. It didn't sound like it was coming from a speaker. My heart was drumming heavily in my ears as I tried to deny what my mind was screaming to me. A million things flew through my mind, many of them excuses as to what could be happening on the other side of that door. I took a deep breath and tightened my hand around the cold handle in front of me. I could stand out here for hours, but nothing was going to be resolved without my opening the door.

All in one motion I turned my wrist and gave a good shove. There was a loud smack as the doorknob slammed against the wall. Two faces turned toward me in shock as my eyes drank in one of the most horrifying sights I had ever seen. Ryan, the man I had loved for two years was wrapped around a pretty redhead. I could see way too much skin and not nearly enough remorse as he pulled the bedsheet up over them both.

I could have said anything right then. Any of the harsh remarks in my head would have been well-deserved, but all I could do was choke out an expletive and haul ass out of his room, down the hall, and out the front door. I would have to praise my decision to stick my keys in my pocket instead of in my forgotten backpack later. By the time I had thrown myself into my car and driven two streets away from his house, my emotions caught up to me. I yanked my wheel to the right as I pulled over in front of a small post office.


	7. Chapter 7

I closed my eyes, feeling the cold glass against my lips as the dry, red wine slipped down my throat. Rosalie's careful hands ran through my hair slowly, by her speed, creating a long braid that sat at my spine.

Alice was finding a movie on the television in the Cullen's living room, claiming that a comedy was exactly what I needed to help me feel better. I disagreed.

"Alice," I started, "can we watch a horror movie instead?" I put on my best 'please' face as she turned around, looking at me with mild surprise.

"Sure," she turned back toward the TV, switching gears as she began searching for the new genre. "As long as there aren't any vampires." I could almost see her smirk.

I smiled, taking another sip of my wine as I watched her scroll through the horror movie options. She chose something generic and supernatural and guaranteed to have a lot of gore. It was a perfect pick for my mood.

The entire ride back to the Cullen home was full of tearful explanations from me, and promises of murder from Rosalie. By the time the hour-long car ride was over, I was more than ready to fall into a bed and sleep the rest of the day away. Alice, though, ever my best friend, handed me a makeup wipe, a glass of wine, and told me that I was not to fall into a depression sleep no matter how well deserved it was. So, here I am.

"Bellaaaaa!" I winced. A stoked Emmett is not what I wanted to deal with right now. Not to mention that his appearance probably meant the rest of them were home, too. I was not ready to explain what had happened this afternoon to the family, least of all Edward.

The Cullen men and Esme entered the room and halted immediately, looking at Alice and Rosalie for some kind of clue as to what was going on. Here I was, a glass of wine in hand, puffy red eyes and blotchy cheeks, watching a family being brutally murdered by a ghost. Totally normal.

I should have known it wouldn't take Edward but ten seconds to pick it out of their brains, but I wasn't any less surprised when his eyes turned angry before I even opened my mouth.

"You can't be serious," he said, shaking his head. Edward turned toward the large windows on the other side of the room, seemingly trying to compose himself. I knew I had returned to my role as the baby of the family and that everyone would be upset with Ryan, so I was expecting the reaction.

I heard Alice's trilling voice as she relayed the information to the rest of the group. My eyes stayed stuck to my glass, swirling the dark liquid around to distract myself. I smirked, realizing that it kind of looked like blood if I really tried to use my imagination.

"He better start praying because I'm going to kick his ass!" Emmett stormed.

"Oh, I've already started planning. Bella left her backpack at his house and I simply can't _wait_ to pay him a visit when we go get it back." She shared a nod with her husband and I wondered if I should start praying for Ryan too, despite what he had done.

I only looked up when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Edward was rubbing his thumb over the top of my arm, causing chills to run down to my wrist. I sighed and laid my hand on top of his, squeezing his fingers before dropping my hand back down to my lap.

"This sucks," I said, causing every head in the room to turn to me, "but I'm going to be just fine. Eventually." I believed it. Nothing could hurt as bad as when the Cullens left me, and I had survived that.

"You're right, Bella." Jasper spoke up, causing me to give him a small smile. "I can feel how strong you are, but that doesn't mean that you don't need to lean on us."

Esme joined me on the couch. "Exactly. Let us help you, honey. We love you so much and we want to make it as easy as it can be." I felt my eyes well up with tears as she put an arm around me.

"Thanks, guys." It was all I could say. I didn't trust my shaky voice to get anything else out. Edward sat on my other side, the rest of the family settling in various places around the room. We watched the rest of the movie in comfortable silence.

After the movie ended, I stretched my arms and yawned, causing a few of the Cullens to smile at my basic human actions.

"Well, someone's not driving tonight." Alice giggled, pointedly looking at my third glass of wine that was nearly empty.

I shrugged my shoulders dramatically and took another sip, narrowing my eyes jokingly as I looked at her over the brim of my glass.

"Would you like one of us to drive you home, or would you like to stay here?" Carlisle's soothing voice asked. I wasn't sure how to respond, at first. Did I want to take that extra step in my relationship with the Cullens? I was already setting myself up for heartbreak by becoming close to them again and staying over would take that even further. On the other hand, the last thing I wanted to do was face my roommates tonight. They were some of my best friends and there would be no way I could hide what happened tonight from them.

"I don't think I feel like explaining myself to my roommates tonight. Would it be okay if I stayed here on your couch?" Even though they offered, I suddenly felt silly asking. I could feel my blush appear on my cheeks.

"Bella of course you can stay here!" Esme placed her hand on my knee gently. "However, you won't be staying on the couch."

"You can stay in my room!" Alice replaced the wine glass in my hand with a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. I loved her.

"Thanks, Alice." I pushed myself up off of the couch and gave her a quick hug. "Goodnight, everyone."

A chorus of farewells followed me up the stairs as I made my way to Alice and Jasper's room. I used their bathroom to get ready for bed and quickly tucked myself under the covers. Between the day I'd had and the wine, I was exhausted.

The silence in the Cullen house was intimidating. I couldn't possibly get to sleep with all of the thoughts running around my head. How could I have possibly missed that Ryan was betraying me? I had blindly believed every word he said about going to work on his normal days off and being too busy with homework to hang out. I was such an idiot.

I rolled over and tapped my phone screen, groaning lightly when I saw the time.

3:21 a.m.

I was never going to get to sleep like this. An idea crossed my mind, but I tried to stamp it out before it even took hold.

Suddenly, before I could stop them, I was met with a barrage of memories; some of which I thought of often, others that I hadn't in a while. Edward holding me and stroking my hair as I fell asleep. Edward humming my lullaby lightly so that Charlie wouldn't hear.

I sat straight up in the silk-covered bed. I was going insane. It was completely ridiculous to be thinking about another man just hours after my longest relationship had ended. But it wasn't really the romance of my time with Edward that was weighing on me tonight, was it?

No. It was the comfort. During my time with Edward, whenever I was in pain, emotional or physical, he knew exactly what it took to calm me down. I craved that now, never really feeling that from anyone but him and Jacob. And clearly, Jake wasn't the realistic choice here.

With that resounding thought, I swung both feet out of bed, letting them hit the ground softly. I rolled my eyes at my attempts to be quiet, knowing full well that every vampire in the house could tell I wasn't asleep yet. I crept toward the bedroom door anyway and opened it almost silently.

I padded down the hall toward the last bedroom. A sliver of light was present on the carpet outside of the closed door, and my heart began to quicken as I tried to ignore my anxiety over what I was about to do. I raised my fist and knocked twice.

"Come in, Bella." His smooth voice came from inside the room. I carefully turned the knob and pushed the door open. I was greeted with the sight of Edward leaning against his headboard with a book in his hands, glancing up at me as I stepped into his space. I turned to shut the door behind me, giving us the illusion of privacy.

He had a pleasant, curious look on his flawless face and I took a few more steps toward him.

"I was having a hard time sleeping, so I thought I would come see what you were up to. Is everyone still here?" It occurred to me that some of the family may have left to hunt.

"It's actually just us and Carlisle at the moment. Everyone else is out running together. Some needed to hunt anyway." Edward stuck a bookmark in his book, which seemed asinine with his sharp memory. "Carlisle only stayed to do some research."

I nodded my head, averting my eyes from his gold ones by observing the objects placed around his room. His CDs, books, and radio, among other things.

"Forgive me if this is an odd suggestion, Bella, but-" Edward paused, picking up his book again. "I'm rereading Jane Austen again, would you like to listen while I read for a while?"

I was so utterly relieved by his offer that I let out a large breath and gave my first genuine smile since that afternoon. "I think that would be lovely."

He smiled back, patting the spot next to him on his bed lightly. I shyly crawled up onto the bed, shifting the pillows behind me so that I would be sitting up just a little bit. We weren't touching, but I already felt more relaxed as his hypnotizing voice began to relay one of my favorite stories.

Before I knew it, I was dozing off. I could still hear Edward speaking the words of the story, but I was no longer paying close attention as my heavy eyelids finally shut for the night. The last sensation I vaguely remembered was a warm blanket covering my body and the lights going out.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter! I'd love to know how you're liking the story so far, and if you have any questions. (: here's chapter 8!**

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I opened my eyes to the bright sun streaming through the large windows in Edward's room. I pulled the covers over my eyes momentarily, preparing myself to get out of bed. I heard a chuckle and threw the comforter down, whipping my head around to see where it came from.

Edward was sitting in a white chair near the bedroom door, looking at me with clear amusement in his eyes, which were slowly transitioning to a dark brown color. He had a laptop resting on his thighs and his fingers were resting lightly on the keys.

I squinted in his direction, "I didn't know you were in here," I started, a smile playing at my lips. "I guess I'm not as good at detecting vampires as I used to be."

He shut the laptop, setting it on a table next to him. "It'll come back to you with practice."

I almost had to do a double take when he winked at me. Laughing, I stood up from the bed and made my way towards the door. I gave him a playful glare and shut the door behind me. His responding laugh followed me back to Alice's room where I showered and put on the outfit she had already laid out for me, knowing it wasn't worth fighting her on.

I stopped in my tracks when I realized I had gone almost an hour without thinking of Ryan this morning. It was another assurance that I was going to be okay, and even though I felt my stomach drop at the first thought of him, it was a good feeling to wholeheartedly believe that it wouldn't be like this forever.

After thanking the Cullens, especially Edward and Alice, for letting me stay, I made the drive back to my apartment. Having the time to think was not ideal, and by the time I made it through my front door I could have dropped right back into bed. That wasn't an option, of course, which was made clear when my roommates bombarded me seconds after I hung my jacket on our shared coat rack.

"Isabella!" Sarah called, Luna and Daniel steps behind her as they came walking out of the kitchen. "We have been worried sick! Where the fuck have you been?"

My jaw dropped open. They never acted like this, considering I stayed at Ryan's regularly without telling them were I would be like they were my parents. "What do you mean?" I asked, half scared, half annoyed.

It was Daniel that answered, meeting my same tone of voice. "Ryan called, asking if you made it home safe. He said you were upset when you left and he was worried about you driving." I could almost feel my blood boiling at the mention of this new information. He didn't have the right to be worried about me anymore.

"And then we couldn't get ahold of you. Your phone was off." Luna, ever the calm one, added.

I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment to collect my thoughts before looking over their concerned faces. "I'm so sorry, guys. I should have called or asked for a charger, I just didn't think about it. It was a long night." All three of them stayed silent, making it clear that they needed more information before they were going to forgive me. "I caught Ryan cheating on me yesterday - walked into his apartment and saw him in bed with another girl."

"Are you fucking joking?" Daniel was pissed, as I knew he would be. Sarah and Luna came forward to hug me immediately and guided me over to one of our living room couches, sitting me right in between them.

"Nope, not joking. Wish I was." I ran a hand through my tangled hair. "I ran into my friend Alice after I left and she took me to her house, which is where I stayed the night."

"Wait, like your friend from high school?" Dan asked. "Like, your ex boyfriend's sister, Alice?"

I cringed, realizing that it sounded totally insane for me to have stayed there with the circumstances. I vowed right then and there that they would never find out _exactly_ where I stayed that night.

"Yeah, that Alice." I bit my lip, "I know it sounds weird, but it's been a long time since we broke up and he's a great person. I'm still close to him and the rest of his family." Luna squeezed my hand, letting me know without words that they weren't upset with me.

"He's got another thing coming. I'm going to call Dillon and Brent." I rolled my eyes as Daniel pulled out his phone to alert the masses.

"You may have to wait in line to kick his ass, Danny." The girls laughed at that, nodding their heads in agreement.

"I'll wait as long as it takes, babe." He walked out the door, phone already to his ear.

For the rest of the day I spent my time laying in bed, sometimes napping, other times debating whether I should call and tell my dad and Jacob or not. I would have to tell them we broke up, but if I called them now there's no way I could hid the reason behind it. I decided to wait a few days and feel it out. The pros and cons were still running through my head when I heard our doorbell ring.

Sarah's muffled voice could still be heard through my closed bedroom door, and I could tell it wasn't someone she knew by her upbeat tone. I tossed my hair up into a ponytail and walked out to greet whoever was here, just in case it was a door-to-door salesman since Sarah had massive issues with saying no.

Saying I was surprised to see Edward standing in my entryway was an understatement. "Edward! What are you doing here?" I stood beside Sarah, who was looking at him with obvious heart eyes.

"I thought you could use a distraction." I wanted to cringe at the reference, but I had done enough cringing and brooding today. "I brought you another horror movie and some popcorn." He held up the items, shaking them a little bit for emphasis.

"That's really sweet of you," I reached my hand out, taking the movie from him to look at the synopsis on the back. It was definitely right up my alley, and I was pleased. "Would you like to stay and watch it with me?"

"I'd love to, if you'd have me." I smiled at him, hoping to show that I did, indeed, want him to stay.

"Of course," I responded, turning to look at Sarah and Luna, who had joined us since the beginning of the conversation. "Girls, this is Edward, the one I was telling you about this morning." I gave them a look, hoping they would drop it and not show that they knew more than what I was letting on. "Edward, these are my roommates, Luna and Sarah."

Edward gave a small wave and both girls greeted him in response, giving him wide smiles. They went back to their rooms, and I began to think about how I would explain this to them when he left. They would want to know why we had suddenly become so close, which was easy enough to explain since they knew he was involved in Daniel's recovery. However, explaining the pink tint to my cheeks and the uncontrollable smile on my face when we talk would be a different story.

Obviously, I was still hurting over what happened with Ryan, and probably would for a long time. However, just because I was dumped in _the worst_ way I could possibly think of doesn't mean that the feelings I had been having for Edward were going to be chased out by my grief. I knew I needed to stay cautious even if I did decide to let my feelings develop, as our history has not always been good for my mental health. Not to mention that I didn't even know if he would want to explore that avenue considering he did leave me for a reason.

By the time I pulled myself out of my thoughts Edward had put in the movie and pulled the popcorn out of the microwave. I decided to get myself settled on the couch, and had just finished laying a blanket over my bare legs, as I knew that I would chill quickly in my cotton shorts. Edward returned to the living room and handed me the bag of popcorn with a small smile on his lips, looking casually back and forth between the spot next to me on our relatively small couch and the matching chair near the end of the coffee table.

Making his decision for him, I scooted a miniscule amount toward one end of the couch and patted the spot next to me with my hand. His answering grin could have lit up the whole apartment and I was thrilled to have been the one to put it on his flawless face.

The movie started, showing a family of five moving in to a new house that wasn't in the best of shape. The children ran up the stairs, respectively shouting claims to their new bedrooms as the mother and father got to work unpacking their belongings. I heard Edward snort, a funny sound to come from him, and turned my head questioningly.

"What?" I asked.

"This is so predictable." He smirked, gesturing to the t.v., "A family moves into a new, clearly haunted house? Really?"

I raised my eyebrow at him, "Hey now, you're the one that brought the movie!" I teased, taking a piece of popcorn and tossing it at him. It hit him square in the cheek, making me giggle as I was fully aware that he could have moved in time.

"You got me there, but I still say it's too cliche." He picked up the piece of popcorn and tossed it back at me, starting a war that lasted only a few minutes. I was too interested in the next part of the movie to continue for much longer than that.

Not twenty minutes later, the first of the jump scares began. I had always been one to let out a little shriek during my first time watching a horror movie when these occurred, and tonight was no different. I may have imagined it, but it seemed that even Edward jumped when the sound escaped my mouth.

He chuckled, spreading his arm over the back of the couch as I shrunk into the cushions and, subsequently, closer to him. We spent the rest of the movie in that position, our bodies close enough that I often thought I could feel his side against my arm if I just focused enough. I walked him to the door after he suggested that it was much past time for me to be in bed, noticing a bit of popcorn lingering in his messy hair just above his ear.

Grinning, I reached up and plucked it from his locks, naturally smoothing the area that was disturbed by my fingers. I had stepped closer to him, resting my other hand on his upper arm to keep my balance as I stood on my tiptoes to reach him, and I suddenly noticed how close that put me to him. His intoxicated scent filled my senses and I felt dizzy for a moment. I planted my feet firmly on the ground, which brought me back to reality very quickly.

Out of breath, I thanked him for everything and almost hurried him out the door so that I could mentally process what was happening. I rushed to my room, hoping to avoid my roommates, and shut the door behind me. I was still breathing heavily, so strongly affected by Edward's proximity, and yet, I wanted more.

 _You have to wait._ I told myself. It wasn't time yet, if ever, but the feelings were back and they were stronger than ever. How could I possibly start a conversation with him about this? What if he rejected me? I don't think I could handle that again, especially after what had happened this weekend with Ryan.

Maybe... Maybe it didn't have to be a conversation. I took a deep breath and smiled to myself. _Of course._ I knew the solution. It felt right the moment it came to mind. I stepped over to my third-story window and opened it, popping out the screen and setting it up against the wall on the floor. I exchanged my shorts for long pants, as it would be colder in my room tonight than usual, and settled into bed, hoping to wake up to my whole world changing.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi there, it came to my attention last time I posted a chapter that I had this story tagged as Bella/Jasper. I apologize for that, but this will be a Bella/Edward story. I hope you guys stick around, but if not I have written a completed Jasper/Bella story called A Family Affair so head over to my profile to check that out if you'd like!**

* * *

I woke up to cold air hitting my face. It may as well have been a cold bucket of water with how fast I shot up, looking around my room for the statuesque figure I had somehow become so attached to, again.

Disappointed in his absence, I leapt out of bed and shut the window as quickly as possible, realizing just how low the temperature was in my small bedroom. Only when I was under the hot stream of water in my shower did I allow myself to think about what I had done the night before.

There was no way that Edward hadn't noticed the open window. It just didn't seem like him to run as soon as I closed my door. I assumed he would have stuck around to make sure that I didn't fall and knock myself out on the way to my bed, which means he would have watched me open my window on a 23-degree night.

I suddenly became upset with myself, feeling like a complete idiot for even thinking that Edward would have had the desire to come into my room at night like he had before. It had been so long, and I was just freshly out of a relationship. Should I have even wanted him to come? Probably not, but that clearly didn't stop me.

I rubbed my temples with the pads of my fingers, trying to dispel my thoughts. Today was huge, and I needed to be focused. I had a presentation and a test back to back today, but that was the least of my concerns. My third class was right next to Ryan's meaning that it was very likely I would run into him. I planned to look _good_ which would take all of my attention. Just as I made my way to my small closet, I received a text message.

Alice: Check your porch (:

I couldn't help the smile that took over my face. I truly missed her meddlesome personality over the years of being without her. Outside my front door I saw a black box with my name in elegant script on top. I found a nice pair of black jeans and a form fitting blouse that was an obvious contrast to anything I would have in my closet. For a moment I worried about looking like I was trying too hard, but dismissed the thought when I remembered where the outfit came from.

I threw my hair up into a high ponytail - a style I knew Ryan loved - and put on minimal makeup to enhance my brown eyes. I felt confident, which was somewhat rare. I never really disliked how I looked, but I never considered myself more than plain either.

I tried to keep my head on straight during my first two classes, reminding myself that Ryan wasn't worth shit and I should try to make it look like I couldn't care less if I did see him. I had decided to get a coffee on my way to _the_ class when I heard my name.

Turning to look behind me as I walked into the coffee shop, I saw Emmett jogging at a human pace to catch up with me.

"Emmett!" I said, grinning. "What are you doing here?" Emmett always had the ability to put a smile on my face.

"I just decided to walk you to class, little sister." He winked, letting me know that that was indeed _not_ the reason.

I rolled my eyes and paid for my coffee, taking a sip as I slipped my arm through his. "Okay, sure." I couldn't help but smile at his use of my old nickname, glad that it didn't send me spiraling like it would have not too long ago.

"So tell me, what class is this that you're taking anyway?" I almost had to run to keep up with his long strides.

"It's called Victorian Era Literature." We continued to discuss the content of the class as we walked through campus. I was so distracted by his humor and loud personality that I forgot why I was nervous to go to class in the first place. I was only reminded by the murderous look on Emmett's face as he leaned up against the wall outside the lecture hall. I didn't even consider turning around to see who I knew would be walking into the class adjacent mine. It was enough to know that I had a hulking, terrifyingly large vampire shooting daggers his way and that my butt looked great in these new jeans.

* * *

That evening I sat cross-legged in my bed, working on a paper that was due in a few days. I contemplated, looking back and forth between my window and my laptop. I couldn't decide if I should leave my window open again or not. What if he had come last night and just left before I woke up? What if for some reason he hadn't seen that my window was open the first night?

Sighing I swung my legs out of bed and walked to the window, tossing it open and leaning on the window sill. "You're invited in." I teased, hoping he was out there to hear me make fun of the hollywood version of his kind.

I began to feel stupid, standing there talking to myself like that. Especially because I had no idea whether he even felt the same way as I was beginning to. Before I could think about it too much, I shut my laptop and set it on my dresser, and tucked into bed.


	10. Chapter 10

Disappointed, frustrated, and confused. These, among other emotions, were swirling through my head when I woke up the following morning. Again, I was alone. I wanted to see Edward sitting in my office chair that sat in front of my desk, or wake up to him sitting on the edge of my bed with a soft smile on his face like I used to back in Forks. Two nights in a row without it, and no sign of it happening any time soon, was almost too much of an emotional rollercoaster to handle.

Danny's ringtone interrupted my mental emotional tirade. I sighed and swiped my finger across the screen.

"Hey stranger." I put the phone between my shoulder and ear as I pulled a pair of leggings from my dresser.

" _Babe, how are you?"_ He responded.

"I'm... fine. How are you?" I winced, noticing my mistake before Dan even commented on it.

" _Bullshit. What's wrong?_ "

"Nothing. I mean...it's complicated." I rolled my eyes at my lame excuse.

" _You're going to regret that statement,"_ he started, " _Now you have to hang out with me tonight so I can pull it out of you._ "

"Why would I regret that? I haven't seen you in days." We had texted back and forth almost constantly since I found out about Ryan, but it had been far too long since I had actually seen him.

" _I don't know, I was just trying to be sassy,"_ I scoffed at his antics. " _I was talking to the group about going bowling tonight. Do you want to come?_ "

I thought about it for a moment before deciding that I could really use a night out with my friends. "Yeah, of course I'll come!"

" _Good. Invite your new-old friends too, if you want._ " I paused, halfway through pulling on my shirt. Was that a good idea?

"I'll think about it and let you know." I would have to contemplate that one, carefully.

" _Sounds good, Belly-boo."_

"Fuck off." I heard him laugh loudly just before I hung up. Sometimes I wasn't sure why I considered him my best friend with how much he loved to annoy me.

Not even a full second after I ended the call with Danny, my phone buzzed - indicating a text message. I should have seen it coming, but somehow I was still surprised when it was from Alice letting me know that the five of them would be joining us tonight for bowling. Obviously, I would have decided to invite them anyway, but it still made me groan as I realized I was going to be antsy for the rest of the day.

I tried to keep myself busy throughout the rest of the afternoon, washing dishes, doing homework, you name it. I would do anything to keep myself from thinking about what I was going to wear that night _one more time._

Finally, I had texted Danny to come over to help me choose an outfit. He showed up way too late for me to be comfortable, but that's Dan. He threw articles of clothing at me until I gave up and grabbed a few at random. I ended up with black leggings and a dark red long-sleeved shirt, cropping up to show an inch or two of my torso.

We listened to some of our favorite songs in the car, something that never failed to loosen me up. By the time we pulled into the bowling alley parking lot I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face. We walked in to see our friends already surrounding two tables near the far side of the alley, beer pitchers on the table and cups in hand. I quickly looked around for a group of pale, beautiful teenagers, but couldn't find them as we made our way over to our rowdy friends.

"Bella!" Both of my roommates squealed like they hadn't just seen me three hours ago. I hugged them both, trying desperately to avoid getting beer spilled on me in the process.

"Hey, nice shirt," Luna said, giggling. I rolled my eyes and gave her a playful pinch. Daniel definitely raided her closet, too, which ultimately ended up being for the best as I chose to wear something of hers instead.

I let my eyes wander again, simultaneously excited and nervous to see the Cullens.

"You are far too interested in your ex-boyfriend's whereabouts for my liking, B." Daniel nudged me with his elbow.

I gave him a dirty look. "Leave me alone, Dan." I tried my best not to let a smile slip through. "It's not like I can help it."

"I knew it!" He punched the air, making me laugh despite my efforts to stay serious. "So what are you gonna do about it?"

"Well I've been _trying_ to drop subtle hints, but I don't think he's been picking up on them." I hoped and prayed that he wouldn't ask what kind of hints. It would be difficult to convince him that my version of a subtle hint, leaving the damn window open, didn't make me crazy.

"Bella," I swear, I jumped three feet when I heard the twinkling voice behind me. I turned so fast it made me dizzy, just to see the Cullens all standing behind us, various levels of amusement present on their faces.

"Oh, hey!" I could feel my face heating up as I looked at them. "This is my best friend, Dan."

I gestured to him, looking up to see his red face barely holding in laughter. I hit his chest and he rubbed his hand down his face, hopefully trying to pull his shit together.

Each of the Cullens gave him a wave or a smile and I turned to introduce them to the rest of the group, hoping to distract myself enough to stop blushing. Edward looked just like he always did - beautiful. There was no other way to describe him with his messy hair, crooked smile, and flawless features. I suddenly felt insecure, wanting to pull at my shirt and fix my hair, but not wanting to be obvious about it. I didn't want to overestimate my ability to be inconspicuous, so I settled for crossing my arms over my stomach, a position I was very accustomed to taking.

We began the first game of bowling, deciding to go boys against girls. The Cullens occasionally missed, making me smile when they pretended to be upset about it. They cheered every time I hit more than one pin, making me laugh and blush all over again. Finally, I managed to get a strike. Edward lifted his hand to give me a high five and our hands lingered, neither one of us seeming like we wanted to let go. We made eye contact and I smiled shyly. Heading back to my seat on the girls' side. Daniel stood a few feet behind Edward, making a gagging motion with his finger. I flipped him off in response, making him laugh loudly. I saw Edward raise his eyebrow at my aggressive action and take on a smirk as I rolled my eyes.

After the game ended, we decided to go hang out in the arcade area. Dillon bought me a beer, which helped me relax significantly. We goofed off playing different games for a while before I noticed Dan and Edward going against each other in Mario Kart. I smirked, remembering Danny's cocky attitude about his winning streak and how it was definitely going to be ruined in the next five minutes. I walked up behind the two, seeing that Edward was behind by about four places.

"Edward, come on, don't go easy on him." I said, not needing Dan to be annoying about beating yet another person at Mario Kart.

"I'm not," he smiled, both of us knowing that that was bullshit.

"Edward, I'm serious." I stepped closer, actually feeling a little desperate for him to pick up the pace as Dan's stupid smile got bigger and bigger the closer he got to winning. When it was apparent that he wasn't going to listen to me, I grasped both of his shoulders and leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Please, he's such an asshole when he wins. Please kick his ass."

I could have sworn I saw him shiver, but either way it worked. In the last lap he caught up to Dan and passed him seconds before crossing the finish line.

"Yes!" I shouted shoving Dan's shoulder as he glared at me from his seat.

Edward laughed and stood up. I gave him a brief hug and thanked him, trying not to look at his siblings as I pulled away.

"Guys, let's take a group photo!" One of my favorite things about Dillon was his desire to document _everything_ because I never thought to. I nervously looked at the Cullens, but they didn't seem to be bothered by the idea of being in a photo. We all gathered around, me standing between Luna and Edward.

"Squeeze a little closer, I don't have everyone in the frame." The employee with Dillon's phone said. We all stepped in, causing Edward's chest to be pressed against my back a bit. I enjoyed those three seconds before the picture was taken far too much.

The rest of the night went too fast and I was bummed out when everyone started toward the parking lot to head home. We all said our goodbyes and when Danny dropped me off at my apartment, even though every night previous to this one hadn't been successful, I opened my window before I fell asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

I woke up to my phone buzzing repeatedly. My sleep muddled brain thought for a minute that it could have been someone calling me, but quickly realized it was my alarm as I gained consciousness. I loathed my early Monday class and was tempted to snooze the alarm, but knew that there was no going back after turning it off once.

Slowly, I made myself sit up and move toward my dresser to choose an outfit for the day. I was hoping to have one of my favorite comfy ensembles clean so that I could make the early morning a little bit better. I was pleased to find my old worn out jeans right on top in my drawer, and began pulling them on. I set my hand on the top of my dresser to steady myself while I stuck my foot through one of the pant legs.

My head snapped up when my fingers landed on something that didn't feel like the smooth wood I was expecting. There was a white piece of paper there, folded in half. My heart sped up a bit when I realized that the only paper I kept around the house was lined and usually stayed in my notebook and that this particular piece probably didn't come from me.

I pinched it between my fingers and turned it over, noticing my name in elegant script. I shut my eyes tight when I recognized the hand writing. The second I gained the bravery to flip the top half of the paper back and look at the note on the inside I almost choked. I absolutely could not believe what I was reading.

 _You're not subtle, but apparently I am. I've been taking advantage of your hints since night one. Thank you for that, by the way._

 _E_

I could feel the blood rush up my neck, through my cheeks, and hit my hairline. He _had_ been here. He had been here the whole time and I was completely unaware.

I delicately set the note back on my dresser, letting my hand slide down my face. I wasn't sure if I was shocked, elated, or petrified about what I had just learned.

Opting for focusing on getting ready instead of analyzing my feelings, I braided my hair and let it fall down the left side. I looked myself over in the mirror, but turned away when I saw a happy, too-hopeful gleam in the eyes of my reflection.

My mind stayed distracted enough while getting to class that a car crash could have happened in front of my and I wouldn't have noticed. Similarly, I didn't retain a single bit of information during the lecture I sat through for almost two hours. I was too busy wondering why Edward hadn't stayed for me to wake up when I had invited him in. Wondering why he decided to leave me a note after realizing I didn't know, but still didn't stay. Wondering what _this_ was between us anyway.

My phone buzzed. I fished it out of my back pocket to see a text from Sarah.

Sarah: Bitchhhhhh

Sarah: Wanna go shopping with me, brent, and dillon?

I smiled slightly, amused at Sarah's lack of filter with her language. I texted her back, confirming that I would love to go. Any reason to get out of my own head was welcome at this point, and I hadn't spent nearly enough time with Brent or Dillon this semester.

On my way to meet them at the mall, my phone buzzed again from my pocket. I almost ignored it, but after a few rings my curiosity got the best of me and I answered the call.

"Hello?" I greeted the person on the other line.

"Bella," Charlie said, not sounding very happy.

"Oh, hey Dad!" I squeezed my phone between my cheek and my shoulder to keep both hands on the wheel, hearing everything my dad ever said to me about driving run through my head.

"Bells, I'd like to stay calm here, but-" he cleared his throat and I could tell something was upsetting him.

"What?" I started, "What is it?"

"What in the hell is this photo I'm looking at, Bella?" My eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

"Photo?" I wracked my brain, but came out with nothing.

"On Facebook. Looks like an arcade or something, Dillon posted it and tagged you." The blood drained from my face as I finally understood what photo he was seeing. I could clearly hear the restraint in his voice.

"Dad, I..." I trailed off. What could I possibly say? This was the man who picked me up after months of being at my lowest. And my lowest wasn't pretty.

"Dad what, Bella?" I winced. Yeah, he was angry.

"I'm sorry. I wish I could have told you before you had to see it." Scrambling to get the information out, I could hear the slight shake to my own voice. "Carlisle Cullen took care of Dan when he had his accident and I reconnected with the family. They're in my friend group now, but that's all, I swear."

"Oh, just friends, huh?" He scoffed. "I've sure as hell heard it all."

Cringing, I reminded myself that he had every reason to be pissed. "I'm serious, Dad. Just friends. With all of them."

"Jacob's not going to be happy with you either, Bells." I rolled my eyes.

"I know that, but the problem is that he doesn't get to make decisions for me." Charlie always wanted me to end up with Jacob. I would have, too, if he wasn't a werewolf who could imprint on someone else. I was sure of it.

"Well I know that. Just wanted to warn you."

"Yeah, thanks." I sighed. "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you first."

"It's alright, just be careful." Charlie grumbled. "And please think about this before it goes too far."

"I will, Dad. Promise." Even my own dad didn't believe that I could stay friends with Edward. Wonderful.

By the time we hung up I was sitting in the mall parking lot. I let my head hit the headrest as I let out a big breath. What was I doing? Was I making a terrible decision by letting them into my life again? The issue was that even if I thought I was making a mistake, I wouldn't be able to change it because I was already hooked on their presence again. In other words, I was screwed.


	12. Chapter 12

A loud banging at the front door of my apartment woke me up violently, causing me to shoot up out of bed so fast that I got dizzy. I blindly searched for the edge of my nightstand with my hand to steady myself, but was met with Edward's arms around my waist instead.

"Are you okay?" He said. I could tell that he was on edge.

"Yeah I'm fine, just stood up to fast." I turned toward him and his concerned, honey eyes met mine. "Who's at the door?"

He opened his mouth to give me an answer, but before any words could make it out we were interrupted by another loud sound - this time an angry sounding voice.

"ISABELLA SWAN, OPEN UP THIS FUCKING DOOR RIGHT NOW." My eyes grew wide as Edward's transformed into a protective glare. Jacob Black. Jacob fucking Black was at my door and Edward was standing in my bedroom.

"Stay here." I demanded, slipping out of my door and shutting it behind me.

By the time I made it to the entryway I swear I could hear Jacob's angry breathing through the thick wood. I slowly twisted the lock, wincing as my best friend busted through the doorway and spun to glare at me. If the situation wasn't so dire, I might have laughed at the fact that it looked like laser beams would shoot out of his dark pupils at any moment.

"Jacob..." I started, but couldn't manage to get anything else out before he interrupted.

"Jacob, _what_ , Bella?" Before I could answer he whipped his head around to face the hallway leading to my bedroom. I peaked around his broad frame to see Edward, standing at the entrance to the living room where I was about to start and finish an argument with Jacob.

"Edward, I thought I asked you to stay back there!" I gave him a stern look, wanting to convey that I was no longer a pushover teen that would allow him to step in to any difficult situation.

"He knew I was here anyway." To his credit, he didn't move from his position even as Jacob began to shake. I gripped onto his bicep, dragging him over to sit on the couch.

"You need to calm down, Jake," I said, sitting down next to him and rubbing his forearm lightly with the tips of my fingers. I was angry with him for showing up and pounding on my door like a madman, but I also understood that I could have told him sooner. He was the one that had to pick me up when I fell apart. He was the one that had to attempt a relationship with me when I had all of the insecurities left over from being broken down by my first love. I couldn't blame him entirely for being pissed off.

"How in the hell am I supposed to calm down? Are you fucking crazy?" I wanted to shrink back into the couch cushions, but I didn't want Edward to think he needed to interfere more than he already had so I stayed put.

"Jake I can't say what I'm doing is the smart thing," I glanced over Jacob's shoulder to make eye contact with Edward, trying to show him with my eyes that although I was telling the truth, I wasn't trying to hurt him. "I can say, though, that I couldn't help it even if I wanted to. Jake, I can't imprint because I'm not like you, but I know that if I could it would be with him. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"I want to understand, Bells, but I can't help but think about the time you almost died after being left in the forest," I cringed, knowing that Edward didn't know about that part yet. I couldn't even make myself look at him. "Or the times that me or your dad missed hours of sleep to sit with you when you woke up screaming in the middle of the night."

I wanted to punch him in the mouth, but I knew he needed to say his peace. To be honest, Edward probably deserved to hear all of this. He made a huge mistake, and him knowing what the repercussions were may not be an entirely bad thing.

"I know. I know, and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. I didn't intend on one of my friends posting a photo before I called you." I shook my head, mentally promising myself to rip Dillon a new one as soon as possible.

Edward cleared his throat unnecessarily. I could see the pain in his eyes and immediately felt horrible for letting this conversation occur in front of him. "Jacob, I know I'm not who you want to hear from right now." Jake scoffed and rolled his eyes, not even turning to face him. "I just wanted you to know, though, that I won't be leaving again. I swear it."

Jacob stood up faster than I had ever seen him, voice dangerously low as he addressed Edward. "I will have to see that before I believe it." He turned and gave me a last irritated look before walking outside and slamming the door behind him.

I planned to call him after giving him some time to cool off, but first I needed to clean up the mess that my werewolf best friend left in his wake.


	13. Chapter 13

I waited more than a few seconds after the door slammed to turn around and face Edward. There was so much that needed to be said – so many questions that needed to be asked. I didn't know where to start. When I finally made eye contact with him all I could think about was the previous night.

* * *

 _I paced back and forth in my room, doing nothing productive except starting a hole in my carpet._

 _I was conflicted. I knew with almost complete certainty that Edward was going to come to my room that night, however, I also knew that he was probably going to be gone by morning. Part of me wanted to leave him a note asking him to stay. The other part of me was aware that there would be no going back after waking up to him in my bedroom. I would fall completely head over heels for him again, and completely open up my heart for being crushed._

 _I flopped onto my bed, staring at the ceiling while contemplating the decision I had to make. I must have fallen asleep during the process, though, because the next thing I knew I opened my eyes to a dark room, still wearing my jeans and sweatshirt. It took me a moment to realize that if I had woken up in the middle of the night, it was very possible that Edward was already there._

 _I turned my head to look at the chair in front of my desk, a small smile gracing my lips when I noticed a figure sitting there, facing me. "Hi," I croaked out, turning to lie on my side._

" _Hi." A chuckle came from the figure sitting just a few feet away._

 _I reached my hand out toward him and felt his cold fingers interlock with mine. I gave his hand a gentle squeeze and closed my eyes again, falling back to sleep quickly knowing, somehow, that he'd be there in the morning._

* * *

I felt my eyes fill with tears as I angrily shook my head. I was angry at Jacob for barging in and ruining what could have been the nicest morning since I lived in this apartment. I was angry at Edward for leaving me in the first place and causing the whole ruckus. But mostly I was angry at myself for feeling what I was feeling. I had spent so long making myself stronger, telling myself that I didn't need to be upset over relationships and that my life meant more than who I was dating. It now felt like I was being thrown headfirst back into my seventeen-year-old life and I hated it.

"Bella," Edward took a step toward me, unsure of himself.

"Wait," I held a hand out to stop him. The least I could do for myself would be to get my emotions under control without the help of a man.

When he stopped in his tracks I realized that things really had changed between the two of us. Obviously four years apart will change a person, but knowing that he listened and was waiting for me to make the next move proved to me that we could do this. We could both be ready to start over as ourselves and not who we were back then.

I wiped my face and took Edward's hand, leading him back into my small bedroom. I sat on the edge of my bed and he took the spot next to me, rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Don't be." His response was short, but not angry. "I should know these things. I made some bad decisions and I deserve to know what I have caused."

I nodded, pulling my hair to one side with my free hand and playing with the ends. "I'm also sorry that he ruined our morning," I smirked, noticing Edward's small smile. "Thank you for staying last night."

"Of course, Bella. I mean it when I say that I'm not leaving again." His eyes were intense, serious. "If you want me as a friend that is what I'll be. If it's more than that, then that's what I want, too." It surprised me how much it sounded like Jacob describing his relationship with his imprint for the first time. I may have hit the nail on the head when I used the comparison just minutes before.

I didn't have to think long before confirming it. "I do want that." I returned his gaze. "More, I mean." Relief, happiness, and a medley of other emotions flooded his face. I could have easily kept my walls up and rejected him, which I'm sure he was half expecting, but something told me that this was the right choice. I had learned throughout my time away from parental authority that a gut feeling is more powerful than just about any other decision making tactic out there.

With a large smile spreading across his face he brought my hand to his lips and pressed a small kiss there, sending butterflies shooting through my stomach at the romantic gesture.

I grinned, too, as I felt emotions that had long been dormant within myself, regardless of the relationships I'd had since high school. I knocked my shoulder with his lightly. "Does this mean you're my boyfriend?" I teased.

He let out a beautiful laugh and gave my hand a small squeeze. "I could want nothing more."


	14. Chapter 14

Days passed with Edward coming through my window every night and staying with me until I woke up in the morning. He would drive me to school and, I'm assuming, run home. We decided together that we wanted some time with just the two of us knowing about our relationship before we shared it with my friends or his family. With Alice having gained a new level of control over what she sees in her visions over the years, we were confident in our privacy. I was just walking in the door of my apartment when I received a phone call from Edward.

"Hello?" I wondered if he could hear the smile in my voice.

"Hi, Love," he greeted. "My family would like you to come over tonight. What do you think about that?"

I hesitated. I missed them and I definitely wanted to see them, but I wasn't sure if I was ready to give up our little world in which no one knew about our official status yet. I was positive that it would be difficult to keep it from them when we were spending time together.

"Yes, I would love to come." I decided that it was worth the risk.

"Great. You can head over whenever you'd like, my family will be home soon."

"Sounds good. See you then!" I stuck my phone in my pocket and dropped my backpack near the door, hearing giggles coming from the kitchen. I smiled, heading in that direction. I missed my girls a lot now that I was spending more time with Edward. It had only been a week, but I already spent much more time with him than I had spent with He Who Shall Not Be Named.

"Bells!" Luna gave me a quick hug as I walked in. I grinned and threw my arm around Sarah's shoulder, looking at what they were laughing at on her phone.

"What are you girls up to?" I asked, taking my turn giggling at the stupid video in front of me.

"I think we are going to go to a party tonight," Sarah shrugged. "Not sure how fun it'll be, but I could use a beer. Wanna come?" I shook my head and both of them laughed.

"Thanks, but no thanks." I rolled my eyes. "Now that I don't have to make appearances for my boyfriend's frat I can take a hard pass on the house party scene."

"Fine," Luna whined. "But that means you'll have to promise us a girls day soon."

"Deal!" We pinky promised.

After swapping dumb jokes with my roommates for nearly an hour I settled on getting ready to head toward the Cullen's. I said a quick goodbye as I threw my jacket over my arm and grabbed my purse, knowing that even though it was warming up outside that it would be cold later.

I wondered if Edward would want to tell his family about us right away. Hopefully, I would get there early enough to talk to him about it before they got home. Telling them would be nice, in a way. I would feel even more a part of the family than I already was, and I knew that they would be thrilled to see Edward so happy. On the other hand, though, I was almost desperate to keep our relationship a secret for just a little bit longer. Telling the Cullens would mean getting ready to tell my friends, my dad...

I immediately shook off the thought of calling my dad as it gave me an immediate headache. Jacob suspected that we were back together, but he also had enough respect to let me tell Charlie on my own. I hoped.

There were two cars outside of the house when I pulled up. I crossed my fingers that the others were out hunting, but I had a gut feeling that that wasn't the case. I was proven right as I shut off the engine and was met with Alice coming out of the house, barreling toward my car.

"Bella!" Alice all but squealed. "I'm so excited, you don't even know." She had a firm grip on my arm, I'm sure to keep me from running. "Don't worry though, Jas and I won't say a word. This is your big news!" At this point she was almost whispering, leading me to think the others were also in close range. All I could do was nod and attempt a smile.

The first thing I saw when Alice opened the door was Edward sitting on the couch, concerned eyes on me. I gave him a reassuring smile, moving to head in his direction. Just before I joined him on the couch Emmett burst into the room with a cocky grin. "Who's ready to get their ass kicked?" He held two controllers and a couple of games in his hands. It broke the tension instantly, everyone except Esme laughing at his vulgarity. He kissed her cheek as an apology, making her join the rest of us in smiling at his antics.

"Does he ever break the controllers?" I whispered to Edward, expecting the chuckles I received from the rest of the family who could definitely hear me.

"Don't worry Bells, we have extras!" Emmett shot a wink in my direction, making me roll my eyes.

"Of course you do." I mocked, leaning into Edward's side a little. At that moment I realized it was going to be a lot harder than I originally thought to keep this on the downlow.

Emmett challenged Jasper to a round of Mario Kart first, no surprise there. We all enjoyed watching Emmett get too heated and Jasper staying cool as a cucumber all the while gaining speed on Em just to knock him out of first place at the very end.

I teased Alice about becoming the next family psychic when Emmett snapped the controller in half at the end of their game. While he was sent off to find a new one, Jasper asked Edward to join him for the next round. I reached out and gently squeezed his knee in support and smiled as he dropped a kiss on my head before standing up to sit next to Jasper in front of the T.V.. Neither of us realized what we had done until I heard a small gasp from Esme. My eyes shot to her, almost fearful of what I might see.

Her small hand was over her mouth, clearly trying to hide her emotions as her other hand clung to Carlisle's. I shot her a small smile, accepting that our little secret was out. Esme let out a choked cry and excused herself to the kitchen. I could tell that the rest of the family was trying to keep things normal as Edward and Jasper jumped into their game. Alice, however, plopped down next to me and immediately squeezed my shoulders, letting out a small squeal. I laughed and leaned into her, feeling any remnants of the hole in my chest disappear as I let myself be accepted into the Cullen family all over again.


	15. Chapter 15

The days and weeks sped by after I reclaimed my place with the Cullens. I spent a lot of time at their house, many nights included, getting reacquainted with the family that I thought I had lost. Even Rosalie seemed to take interest in creating a relationship with me. I hadn't asked Edward because I didn't want to jinx it, but I assumed that she had come to terms with the fact that she was stuck with me and that I was her only sister that would even consider working on cars with her instead of going shopping.

I wasn't any less nervous about telling Charlie, but I had let my friends slowly figure it out on their own. Between my disappearances and Edward coming to nearly all of our outings, I mostly just received crude jokes and gestures from Dan and winks or giggles from the rest. Occasionally I would catch Edward making a face that I could only assume meant he would be blushing if he could based on what my friends were thinking about our relationship.

Graduation was fast-approaching and I knew I would have to tell Charlie about us before then. It wouldn't do any good to give him a heart attack all the way out in Maine because I chose to be a coward. I was twirling a pencil between my fingers at my small desk stuck in the corner of my apartment bedroom, trying to conjure up a script in my head when my phone rang. _Charlie Swan (Dad)_.

I heaved a huge sigh, rolling my eyes when I remembered Alice telling Edward to go home instead of coming over after class. Sneaky little shit that she was, I was appreciative that I was going to be alone for this conversation.

"Hello?" I was sure I was already giving something away with the quiver to my voice.

"Hey, Bells." Charlie sighed. "How are ya?"

I smiled at my father's never-changing greeting. I had memories of this exact phone call introduction from a very young age.

"I'm good, Dad, and you?" I desperately thought of ways to stall.

"I'm fine, you know. Not much happening around Forks with you over on the East Coast," he chuckled. "All your trouble-makin'."

I laughed, waiting for whatever it was he had to say. He rarely called without reason.

"Listen, Bells, I have a question for you and I want you to tell me the truth." I winced. I should have known better than to try and hide my relationship from a police chief. "Am I going to have to sit next to your mom at graduation? I know there's enough tickets for all of us, but you know how much she talks and I would actually like to hear them call your name."

I let out a true belly-laugh at Charlie's grumpy request. It was so far off the mark of what I expected to hear that I couldn't hold it in if I tried.

"There are enough people going that I'm sure we could find you a buffer, Dad." I amused myself imagining Edward sitting between my parents and the disaster it would be.

"Well, good. That's all I ask." I loved this goofy side of my father. I missed him terribly and wanted to be honest with him more than anything. I took a deep breath and spit it out before I could chicken out as I had so many times since Edward came back into my life.

"Dad," I started, "You might be upset with what I need to tell you, but I want to be honest with you." I thought I heard a shuttered breath, but I couldn't be sure.

"I'm... I'm dating Edward Cullen... Again." I managed to finish my thought. It was tempting to hold the phone away from my ear in anticipation of his reaction.

It was silent for far longer than I was comfortable with. Finally, after a sigh and what I imagined was a lot of self-control, he surprised me for the second time in one phone call.

"Are you happy, Bella?" I felt my eyes fill up with tears. I could almost physically feel my heart squeeze with how much he loved me and I suddenly felt supremely guilty for hiding it from him this long.

I didn't hesitate. "Yeah, Dad. I'm happy. Really, really happy." He had to have heard the emotion in my voice. I wished more than anything for the chance to wrap my arms around him and found myself longing for graduation weekend to come.

"I always had a feeling he was it for you. If that's how you feel, Bells, as much as I hate to say it... Hold onto him." I thought of his relationship with Sue. I was aware that he felt as though they were soulmates, as much as he believed in that stuff, anyway. I had no doubt that his newfound love for her had a hand in his reaction to the news of my relationship with the boy that had almost done irreversible damage to his only daughter.

"You don't know what that means to me, Dad." He had to know the weight his words carried. I knew it wasn't easy for him to say them.

"Yeah, well..." I could almost see him scratching his head and looking around, as he always did when he accidentally showed too much emotion.

"I love you and I can't wait to see you next week." I let him off easy.

"Same here, honey. See ya then." The line went dead and I gently set my phone down on the desk. I couldn't believe how well that conversation went. I predicted that he wouldn't be letting Edward off easily face-to-face, but I would know where his heart was at and it was more than I ever thought I could ask for.


	16. Chapter 16

I could safely say, sitting in my chair among thousands of other graduates, that this was not how I had imagined my college graduation to go. Because I was the only one of my friends in my major, I wasn't sitting next to anyone I knew. However, I could see the back of Dillon and Luna's heads three rows ahead of me and was able to make eye contact once or twice.

The hardest part was forcing myself to stay facing forward rather than trying to look around for the Cullens or either of my parents. Alice had behaved as though it were my wedding day and stopped me from seeing anyone before the ceremony.

"Your hair is perfect, but it is going to look even better after it has relaxed. That means _after_ the ceremony, Bella. I mean it!" I held back a laugh as I thought about her request. I tucked a curl behind my ear and tried to listen to what the speaker had to say.

Honestly, it was difficult to focus on graduating at all with the knowledge that this was probably one of hundreds of graduation ceremonies I would be sitting through in my lifetime. That thought brought me back to wondering how close together Edward and Jacob were forced to sit. Or, Edward and Charlie for that matter.

Everyone around me was called to stand and toss their hats within the next hour and it quickly became a madhouse trying to find my family and friends. Thank heavens for Alice, who came up with a designated meeting spot and I'm sure sent out maps to all of those visiting for the ceremony.

"Bella!" I spun around looking for the source of the voice. I was greeted with the image of my mom wildly waving her arm, causing her bracelets to jingle around. I smiled and walked toward the group, pleased that I no longer had to stand on my tip toes trying to find them in the crowd.

I wrapped my arms around my mom as soon as I got within reach. She repeated words of praise as she moved between holding my face in her hands and pulling me in for one of many hugs. I saw Charlie's smiling face over her shoulder and slipped out of my mother's grasp as soon as was appropriate.

"Hi, Dad." I grinned as I hugged him for the first time in months. We were so similar that I knew his face was red as I showed him affection, but I couldn't make myself care. He dropped a kiss on the top of my head before releasing me to give hugs to the rest of my family and friends that came out.

I glanced around, looking for the Cullens, but not yet seeing them. I had a suspicion that they were giving me space with my family before heading in our direction, knowing that it was bound to be tense for a few minutes in the beginning. Another thought crossed my mind at that moment and I turned to Charlie to voice my confusion.

"Wait, Dad, where's Jake? Didn't he come with you?" Before he could respond I was lifted right off of my feet and spun around enough times to be dizzy by the time my feet found the pavement again.

I laughed and reached out to hold onto the arm of whoever eliminated any grace I had managed to obtain in these shoes. The temperature was a dead giveaway and I looked up to see one hulking Jacob Black.

"Congrats, Bells." He chuckled and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek, something that started out as a habit when he was trying to gain my affection and turned into a more familial greeting in the last few years, after he imprinted, of course.

"Thanks, Jake." I smiled at him and turned to face the rest of the group. "Thank you all so much for coming. As you know, my friend Alice insisted on throwing me a party." Everyone laughed as I rolled my eyes. "Please come, they bought way too much food for just one family to eat."

I heard Jake scoff as everyone split up to head to their cars. I sent him a look and he shook his head, throwing his arm around the slender blonde standing next to him.

"Bells, this is Anna. Anna, my best friend Bella Swan." His mood had dampened, but I wasn't going to let it ruin my day. I smiled at Anna and reached out to shake her hand.

"It's so nice to finally meet you, Anna. Thank you so much for making this trip out here." She had a sweet smile with a small dimple on one side.

"Of course, I've been dying to meet you and I've never been to the east coast before. I'm happy to be here!" We walked together to the parking structure that had been designated for the ceremony while I tried to ignore Jacob's attitude. It was obvious that he didn't want to attend the Cullen's party, and I was nervous enough as it was with the attention being all on me.

Edward and his ability to sense my stress levels decided that it was time to make an entrance as we got closer to where we were all parked. He stepped out from his car and made his way toward us with a brilliant smile that made my knees embarrassingly weak. I knew without looking that Jake and Anna were the only others in the vicinity that would know who Edward was, so I didn't bother to hide my affection when he put his hands on my waist. I planted a kiss on his lips and felt him smile just before he pulled away.

"I'm so proud of you, beautiful." He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear and dropped a kiss on my head before addressing Jake and Anna.

"Hello, Jacob and..." Edward trailed off, waiting for the girl at his side to introduce herself.

"Anna," she offered, giving a soft smile, but showing concern for Jacob's even more dramatic mood swing.

"Cullen." Jake said tightly. He nodded to me and tugged Anna in the opposite direction, taking a detour to where I presumed their rental car was parked.

I turned to Edward, rolling my eyes as I slipped my hand into his.

"I guess some things never change." I commented as Edward led me to the passenger side of his car. "I thought you guys left to go get the party set up." I looked at him curiously.

"The rest of the family left shortly after the ceremony ended, but I wanted to get my congratulations in as soon as possible." He shot me a grin as he pulled out onto the street.

The rest of our car ride was spent sharing and comparing graduation experiences over the years. Edward even cautiously asked me about the Forks High School graduation and admitted that he nearly called that weekend, but chickened out at the time, knowing that he would have come back if he had heard my voice.

When we arrived at the Cullen residence, there were tables and decorations scattered around the yard in our school colors. I knew that I wouldn't be the only graduate there as they had invited the rest of my friends to join us, but I was still embarrassed at the amount of attention as I got out of the car.

I was greeted by the rest of the family with hugs and congratulations, and I was surprised to see Esme's teary expression as she kissed my forehead when she approached us.

"Graduations are Esme's favorite," Edward leaned down to whisper in my ear. "Next to weddings, that is." He finished off with a wink. I felt my heart rate speed up and my cheeks redden as he smirked and struck up a conversation with Phil who was checking out his car.

I managed to postpone Edward and Charlie interacting for about an hour into the party. It was when I was distracted with gathering food onto a plate that he snuck up on us.

"Edward," he said, using his gruffest tone of voice that I assumed he generally reserved for being on-duty.

"Hello, Charlie." Edward reached out his hand, and my dad looked him up and down before taking it.

I could see Charlie arguing with himself about what to say. In the end, he clapped Edward on the shoulder as he moved to the end of the line to grab a plate himself.

"Be good to her, son." I wasn't entirely sure that I was meant to hear what he'd said, but I was thankful for his attitude regardless. I could tell Edward was as well when he smiled and put his hand on my lower back as we walked toward a few empty seats at one of the tables to enjoy the rest of the party.


End file.
